Two years after the murder of elderly rice-farming couple, Mohamed Munir and his wife, Bibi Jamila, who were burnt to death in their Good Hope, East Bank Essequibo home, four men were on Wednesday committed to stand trial at the High Court for their death.

Jason Howard called ‘Smelly’; Sanjai George called ‘Coolie boy’; Shamadeen Mohammed called ‘Milo’ and Joel Blair were committed by Magistrate Rushell Liverpool at the Lenora Magistrate’s Court.

The men were undergoing a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) for allegedly killing the elderly couple on April 17, 2016 at Good Hope, East Bank Essequibo in the course or furtherance of arson.

Magistrate Liverpool found that a prima facie case was made out against the four accused at the conclusion of the PI and committed them to stand trial at the next practical sitting at the Demerara Assizes in Georgetown

Munir, 75, and his Bibi, 69, perished shortly after 23.00 hrs on April 17, 2017, after they were trapped in the raging fire which destroyed their heavily grilled, two-storey house. Their badly burnt corpses were retrieved from the debris after the fire was finally extinguished. Eyewitnesses said that the blaze started in the upper flat and spread throughout the house within minutes.

Reports indicate that one of the suspects, who lives at the back of the Munirs, revealed to a friend that the couple had $20M cash in their home. A deportee was then contacted and a gang of six, which included a driver and a lookout, was formed and the plan was hatched to rob the couple.

Police investigators learnt that the men, upon breaking into the couple’s house, hunted for valuables and in the process, the couple woke up. This newspaper understands the perpetrators then attempted to gain access to the couple’s bedroom at the rear of the building, but because of the security feature, they were unable to do so.

The angry bandits then decided to light a sofa afire and threw a gas bottle into the fire, resulting in a loud explosion minutes after they fled the scene. They then fled through a track that led to a church and a cemetery in a street behind the couple’s home. From their hiding place, they heard Mohamed and Bibi Munir screaming for help.

Police have received reports from a neighbour, who said that she saw two persons in the couple’s verandah before the fire broke out.

The neighbour also claimed to have heard Mrs. Munir screaming that ‘bandits’ were in the house. Ranks from the force’s Major Crimes Unit are spearheading the ongoing investigation.